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Ministers will speed up the implementation of protections against unfair dismissal for workers so that they start from 2027 after brokering a compromise with Angela Rayner.
Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and architect of the employment rights bill, had been planning to lay an amendment to ensure the protections come into force from early next year. But she will no longer do so after conversations with Peter Kyle, the business secretary.
Ministers will instead make a commitment in the Commons on Monday to implement protections against unfair dismissal for workers with six months of service, starting on 1 January 2027.
Ministers had previously committed only to implementing the change at some point next year, with October 2027 being one date under discussion.
A government source said: “We are happy to have a clear date for this change. Now the House of Lords need to get on and pass this landmark bill so business can get the clarity they need and workers can get the security they deserve.”
Anyone employed from July 2026 will benefit from the decision as the protections will immediately apply to workers who already have six months service or more.
Rayner’s intervention came after considerable Labour anger at the decision to axe day-one protection against unfair dismissal enshrined in the bill, and replace it with a qualifying period of six months – down from the existing two years.
Late last week ministers abandoned a manifesto commitment to give workers the right to make an unfair dismissal claim against an employer from the first day in a new job. They said that the compromise, which was brokered by businesses and unions, was needed to overcome staunch opposition to the legislation in the House of Lords.
Rayner and the former employment rights minister Justin Madders have been in talks with the government this week over changes. A Labour source said they and other MPs were “pleased ministers have listened and responded to their concerns and proposals”.
“There has been a groundswell of support for their initiative in both the Commons and the Labour movement this week. They would have easily had the numbers but it won’t need to come to that now this has been amicably resolved through dialogue and focused discussion,” the source said.
“More working people now stand to feel the tangible benefit of stronger protection against unfair dismissal sooner and that has to be chalked up as a significant win, which Labour can campaign on next year.”
Rayner and Madders argued that the implementation could be considerably faster because there was no need for widespread consultation and employer familiarisation for a new process – given the new offer was only a shortening of the current arrangements.
At present, workers can generally only make claims of unfair dismissal if they have been in a job for two years. This qualifying period was increased from one year by David Cameron’s government in 2012, having been reduced by Tony Blair’s government from two years to one in 1999.
A number of MPs told the Guardian earlier this week that while they accepted the government’s justification for the climbdown over day-one rights, they feared it would embolden peers and critics of the bill to push for further changes to the bill.
Trade unions have mostly accepted the compromise – arguing that the alternative, a nine-month probation period, needed extra time for consultation amid worries it was unworkable. The government also agreed to lift the cap on compensation for claims, a long-term union demand.
The bill, which will return to the Commons next week, also includes measures to ensure workers on zero-hours or variable contracts are not locked out of the new rights, as well as introducing fines for employers who deny unions the right to talk to workers.
